Flexible film packages are known in the art for storing and shipping products. These flexible film packages can provide a lightweight package with a hermetic seal. A partial or substantial hermetic seal makes such flexible film packages particularly useful for storing a variety of food products, including, for example, crackers, chewing gum, chocolate bars, cookies, cheese sandwiches, biscuits, candy, meat products, and dried fruits and vegetables. Further, such flexible film packages may be used for non-food applications such as medical, pharmaceutical, or industrial packaging applications. Depending on the product, some of these flexible film packages also may contain structural supports, such as a frame or tray, whereas others may only contain the products to be packaged.
One type of flexible film package is formed from a single web of material that is formed or wrapped around a product. These types of packages can be formed by enveloping or wrapping the product with the web of material and forming a longitudinal seal, such as a fin, bottom, or lap seal with two edge portions of the web of material. A pair of end seals may then be formed in the web to enclose the product, and then the package singulated from the remainder of the web. In other embodiments, packages formed from more than a single web of material and numerous side-seals can be formed. Because these types of packages can provide hermetically sealed enclosures, they are suitable for packaging food products.
The flexible film packages can be reclosable. In one example, reclosable packages can be formed from a film laminate that includes an outer layer of one or more films and an inner layer of one or more films. The top and bottom layers are adhesively sealed together, and a flap is die cut into the top and bottom layers. More specifically, a U-shaped die cut is cut into the outer layer, and a similar but smaller die cut is cut into the inner layer. When the flap, which includes both the inner and outer layers within the U-shaped die cuts, is opened, a reseal margin of just the inner layer is exposed. Permanent adhesive can be use throughout the package, except in the reseal margin where a pressure sensitive adhesive is used to enable the flap to be opened and closed multiple times against the reseal margin. In order to ensure that the permanent adhesive is not in the reseal margin, the two adhesives are spaced from each other, leaving a gap aligned with the U-shaped die cut of the outer layer.